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Men's Soccer Back on Winning
Track; Defeats Biola 1-0 |
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Coming off its first loss since its opening match, the Cal State San Marcos men's soccer team (8-2) quickly righted the ship on Friday, defeating a previously unbeaten Biola squad (4-1) by a score of 1-0 in what was a tremendous soccer game. Scoring opportunities were few and far between in the tightly contested match. Luckily for CSUSM, Curtis Marcikic got the Cougars on the board early. Just under 6 minutes into the match, Chris Wyatt controlled a ball in Biola territory. From a sharp angle, he struck a cross to the opposite side of the net, finding Marcikic all alone at the far post. Though the cross handcuffed him, Marcikic managed to redirect the ball into the net with his hip, giving CSUSM an unlikely 1-0 lead That would be all the Cougars' defense would need. After Marcikic's goal, CSUSM managed only one more shot on goal for the duration of the match, but was able to fend off all of Biola's attacks. Cougar keeper Trent Painter was his usual self, barking out instructions to his defenders, making good decisions, and stopping both shots on goal he faced. In the waning minutes of the match, Biola mounted a ferocious charge, nearly equalizing the game multiple times with some hard shots and free kicks that just missed. But despite all this, CSUSM never lost its composure, weathering the storm until the final whistle blew. For the Cougars, Friday's win should be a major confidence builder. The squad was coming off a tough loss, playing on the road, and involved in one of its first night games in cold and windy conditions, yet still managed to best a very good Biola team that entered the game 4-0. Following the game, assistant coach Bobby Renneisen had nothing but praise for both teams. "This was the best team we've faced all year," says Renneisen. "It was just a great college soccer game. It could have gone either way." Renneisen added that Biola has 4 or 5 players with "special" talent. All of this makes the Cougars' performance on Friday even more impressive, and bodes very well for the team's outlook for the rest of the season. After a well-deserved week off, the Cougar men will be in action again when they host a very tough La Sierra squad on Sunday, October 1st. Kickoff is at 3:00 PM, and all CSUSM supporters are welcome to head down to Mangrum Field to cheer on your Cougars! |